Hi there! I was in a collector's shop the other day and saw a set of coins that claim to be from the constantine era. the group of twenty was on sale for 125.00, but they are international numismatic bureau coins, and i've heard alot of bad things on these forums just looking around. I'm not interested in buying them to make any kind of profit, and I'm honestly not worried whatsoever about the condition of the coins, i just want to own something that's that old. But are these coins fake? or does this company "INB" sell real coins but their quality is questionable?
There's no way to be sure without pictures, but I understand the coins are not yours. I have never bought from them, but hopefully others who have will give an opinion.
Don't know anything about INB, but if they're mediocre quality bronzes that prince isn't out of line for real coins. There are tons of bronzes from that era out there for as little as $5 depending on quality (they can get MUCH more expensive than that). Without good pics it's hard to really say much about the authenticity or value of the specific coins in question. EDIT: Just did a little googling on INB. Sounds like they're self slabbers like SGS and others. While the coins may be authentic I'd be leery of trusting any 'grading' or attribution they might list.
Thanks for the help, ive decided to pass on the coins I've mentioned earlier and have been looking around on Vcoins.com. I've heard many good things about them on these forums and i'm thinking about purchasing thiscoin http://www.vcoins.com/ancient/rohde/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=10399 anyone have any basic info for me on it?
I don't think thats a bad deal for that coin. I just want to make sure that you know that the coin is about the size of your pinky finger nail. Richard
Fair price from a good dealer. Just be aware, as ziggy points out, it's a tiny one (only 8.5mm) sometimes folks don't realize that.
Yep I did know it was very small, but I think it's neat looking. Thanks again for all the help it's really appreciated! I'm actually getting pretty excited about collecting ancient coins and it's good to have a place to consult. what are some good starter coins? I haven't narrowed down what i'm going to collect at this point, so anything that you folks enjoy i would be interested in looking into. My price range is below 50.00 though
You're right it is a neat coin. You can get some really nice LRB's (Late Roman Bronzes) for under $50 or you can get a nice Imperial Era Denarius in that range too. Greeks get a little tougher in that range, but they're out there too. Just have to keep an eye out. VCoins is a good place to shop, but I'd stay away from ebay at least until you've got lots of experience. You also might consider at least the first book by Wayne Sales... http://www.vcoins.com/ancient/sayle...e/listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=21 Good sites to check out besides here would be Ancients.info and Forumancientcoins.com Lastly if you're looking at a coin and are worried about authenticity (shouldn't be a big problem when sticking to VCoins) post it and ask. Plenty of folks will take a look and give their opinions and/or forward you to someplace else for more info if need be.
